Tesla's Birthday: A Car And A Spot In The NASDAQ Revive A Legacy

I write on trademarks, branding, copyright, advertising and patent law

Image via CrunchBase

Celebrities stick their names on everything possible as a way to capitalize on their reputations. Today, the reverse has happened. Nikola Tesla, inventor, has been re-elevated in the ranks of science based on the emergence of a product which bears his name nearly three quarters of a century after his death.

In trademark law, there is a concept known as "reverse domain name hijacking." That is when someone with a famous name or trademark tries to use a legal process to claw back a domain name registered by a third-party. A publicized recent example was politician and former presidential hopeful and U.S. Representative Ron Paul. A group of supporters owned www.ronpaul.org. They registered it before Dr. Paul got the chance to do so (or before he thought of it). He filed an administrative action to get it back. The panel of arbitrators found that Paul was trying to hijack the name from the not for profit, which had registered it legitimately. To use a domain name which includes someone else’s name or trademark, the registrant must have a bona fide interest in using that name. The arbitrators found that the supporters group had such an interest and, therefore, Ron Paul was trying to unfairly hijack (in reverse) their property by claiming to be a “more rightful” (note this is NOT a term of art!) owner.

What has happened to the “Tesla” name is a reverse hijacking, if you will, of his reputation. From relative obscurity, his name has been taken to relative fame on the wheels of a new product. Mr. Tesla was born on July 10, 1856 in what was then the Austrian Empire. He was an engineer employee of Thomas Edison, and credited with developing Alternating Current. He was a holder of many patents and seemed to live the high life in New York for many years before he ran out of money. After his prime, his name was not well known outside of engineering circles, though he was the inspiration for a measure of magnetic force, the Tesla, so dubbed in the mid-20th Century, a decade or two after his death.

Tesla is quoted as saying, “[W]ith the opening of the first power plant, incredulity will give way to wonderment, and this to ingratitude, as ever before.” But gratitude to Tesla seems to be returning. Now, 70 years after his death in 1943, Tesla is a superstar. The "Tesla" car is attracting huge interest, if not to date huge sales. Tesla motors just joined the elite NASDAQ 100. But the "Tesla" car has made Tesla famous in this generation. The Tesla name may have been inspired by Nikola, but without the car company, Tesla’s name may still be only one in the crowded highway of inventors. The product has acted to initiate interest in the namesake, and in the process, has started to succeed in polishing up a reputation otherwise largely lost to the general public.

In our age, names sell. Celebrities from sports to politics, to business to entertainment, try to capitalize on their fame and expand their images so they can sell goods and services. The “Tesla” example shows that the power of names can flow both ways.

For over 30 years, I have been advising clients on how to use, defend and protect their IP assets. As a partner and co-founder of Collen IP I have litigated hundreds of trademark, copyright, patent and other cases for U.S. and foreign companies in the federal district courts...